Choices
by OoZolaoO
Summary: There's a beautiful new girl at Kadic with her eye on Ulrich. Unfortunately for him, their personalities mesh like Velcro. Meanwhile, Yumi is still struggling with the sickness that hit her before the XANA attack four days ago...UxY, JxA. T for angst.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Hey everyone! Long time no see, haha. Surfing some of the newer fics in this and other categories put me in the mood for writing fanfiction again, and it just so happens that today I also found a half-forgotten folder of old stuff I had written. The first five or so chapters of this are already written out, but some need some serious editing. I have a twenty-one chapter outline ready, so this story might actually go somewhere! Yay!

This is a sequel to my oneshot 'To Go Alone', but if you're too lazy to hunt that up, here's what's going down: Yumi got sick and the group had to deactivate a tower without her. Aelita and Ulrich weren't doing so hot on Lyoko, and Odd was locked in a game of cat-and-mouse with a Tarantula that had made its way downtown. Of course, our favorite black-clad heroine showed up, regardless of her health, and helped save the day. She was still sick after a return-to-the-past, but that was only to be expected. Ships were UxY and JxA. This story starts four days after the return-to-the-past.

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko or any of these characters. I own only the story idea and the laptop I'm typing this on.

* * *

**To Go Alone**

_by OoZolaoO_

Chapter One: Four Days Later...

**DellaRobbia502: **Any1 here?  
**Ishiyama1112: **Im here.  
**Stones04: **And me. Jeremie's here too.  
**DellaRobbia502:** oh, dont tell me you and einstein are going to be up all night again…  
**Stones04**: Jeremie's almost fixed the program that bugged up the Skid's sonar last time, and he needs my help.  
**DellaRobbia502:** booooooooooring. i'd much rather sleep.  
**Stones04:** Well then you're in luck. :)  
**DellaRobbia502:** very funny princess.  
**DellaRobbia502:** yumi? you still there?  
**Ishiyama1112:** yeah. what's Ulrich doing?  
**DellaRobbia502:** trying to ace the english test we have tomorrow  
**Stones04:** Tell him good luck!  
**DellaRobbia502**: will do  
**DellaRobbia502: **hold on, he wants something  
**DellaRobbia502:** Yumi? It's Ulrich.  
**Ishiyama1112:** hey  
**DellaRobbia502:** You feeling any better?  
**Ishiyama1112:** not rlly.  
**Stones04:** Still?  
**Ishiyama1112: **not since lyoko the other day, no  
**Stones04:** But that was four days ago!  
**DellaRobbia502:** (odd again!) but who's counting?  
**Ishiyama1112: **shut up odd  
**DellaRobbia502: ***shoves odd out of the way* seriously yumi, listen to aelita. she does have a point  
**Ishiyama1112:** im telling you guys, im fine. im going to work on homework  
**DellaRobbia502:** wait yumi  
**Ishiyama1112:** no

[_Ishiyama1112 has signed off_]

**DellaRobbia502:** (ODD RULES) whats got her in such a bad mood?  
**Stones04:** She doesn't like us worrying about her, I guess.  
**DellaRobbia502: **ulrich's leaving now. guess it's just you and me princess  
**Stones04**: Actually, I've got to go too, Odd. See you tomorrow!

[_Stones04 has signed off_]

**DellaRobbia502: ***sigh* im all alone. again. with a sulky ulrich. COME BACK AELITA!  
**DellaRobbia502:** oh well.

[_DellaRobbia502 has signed off_]

~*~

Jeremie stumbled into breakfast, eyes half-closed. Finding his way to his normal table from memory, he placed his laptop down and rested his head on his arms, yawning as he did so.

"Glad to see you looking so awake this morning," Odd sniggered from behind a fork of bacon. Jeremie ignored him, closing his eyes fully. Aelita didn't look much better; she had shadows under her eyes that pointed to another night of little or no sleep.

"We were up pretty late," Aelita protested, yawning also.

"More like early," Jeremie mumbled into his arms. "I think I remember saying 'Good night' to you at one point."

"And then I corrected you, saying that it was already tomorrow, and it was more of a 'Good morning' occasion," Aelita smiled tiredly. Yumi and Ulrich arrived synonymously, each setting their trays down in their normal spots.

"Good morning," Aelita greeted them.

"Let me guess, you and Jeremie were up all night working on the Skid?" Ulrich laughed. Jeremie answered with a yawn and a nod. "Excellent. Now when X.A.N.A. attacks we'll have no one to run the supercomputer OR activate the tower. We're in good shape," he added sarcastically. Odd nodded.

"Yeah, Einstein, if you're going to be sleep deprived, do it once X.A.N.A. is gone for good."

"It's not _his_ fault that we had to work on the Skid," Aelita bristled. Ulrich and Odd exchanged a laughter-filled glance.

"All right, you don't need to get all defensive," Ulrich grinned.

"Leave Aelita alone," Jeremie snapped. "None of this is her fault either."

"Could you guys just _stop_?" Yumi broke in, glaring around the table. "You're giving me a headache. You two, leave Aelita and Jeremie alone. Aelita and Jeremie, ignore them. They're just trying to pick on you."

"Thank you, Yumi," Aelita replied, glancing up at her. Catching her face, she narrowed her eyes.

"Yumi, what are you doing at school? You still don't look very good." Yumi shot a half-hearted glare at Aelita before looking back down at her tray and the uneaten food upon it. Odd and Ulrich looked over at Yumi too, wanting to see what Aelita was talking about. Yumi was even paler than usual, and her eyes lacked their usual glimmer.

"I agree with Aelita. Why don't you go home, Yumi?" Odd added. Yumi switched her glare to him now.

"Because I'm fine. We've had this conversation," she snapped. Her hoarse voice made it obvious that she was still coughing. Ulrich said nothing, though he watched Yumi with worried eyes.

"Yumi-" Ulrich started, but he held his tongue as Yumi grabbed her tray and strode off in annoyance.

"She hasn't been getting any better since Lyoko," Aelita whispered to Jeremie as Ulrich and Odd got up to go to their first class of the day. Jeremie raised his head. "In fact, I think she's been getting worse."

"You think X.A.N.A. has something to do with it?" Jeremie asked, blinking open his eyes and looking awake.

"It's possible," Aelita allowed, looking worried. "Though it could just be a cold or something. But I don't want to take any chances."

"Next time we go to Lyoko, I'll scan her digital imprint to see if I can find anything," Jeremie told her.

"When are we next going to Lyoko?" Aelita asked, standing up.

"Tonight, if possible. Since we finished the Skid's program, we can give it a test run."

"Great. Thanks, Jeremie," Aelita gave him a swift hug and left for class, leaving a blushing Jeremie to grab his laptop.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Look, chapter two is up! Hope you enjoy it! Sorry it's a bit rough -- the chapters up to five or six are old news. I'll let you know when it's new stuff. :) And hah, I realized that in my last chapter I listed it as 'To Go Alone'. That was Choices, too, obviously.

Thanks to my reviewers on the first chapter! You all rock. -applause-

Disclaimer: Still don't own Code Lyoko or the characters, though I do own Malloria. I'm not very proud of it, but I own her.

* * *

**Choices  
**

_by OoZolaoO_

Chapter Two: A New Girl in Town

"Who's that?" Odd leaned over to whisper to Ulrich, indicating the girl setting three rows in front of them. It was almost time for lunch, and Ulrich wasn't really paying attention in class, but he followed Odd's gaze anyway. Odd saw Ulrich's eyes linger on every wave of the luxurious auburn hair that fell a few inches below the girl's shoulders.

"I don't know. Probably another transfer student," Ulrich concluded, remembering the large amount of new students in their grade.

"Let's introduce ourselves after class. She probably doesn't know anybody and she might need help finding her way around." Odd suggested. Ulrich shrugged.

"Okay with me, I guess."

~*~

The bell rang and the students gratefully jumped up, eager to leave Mrs. Hertz's class. Once Odd and Ulrich were outside the classroom, Odd nudged Ulrich and pointed to the new girl standing a few feet away. He winked and strode up to the new girl, smiling as she looked his way.

"Hi, I'm Odd Della Robbia. Welcome to Kadic." he leaned forward into a graceful bow. The girl smiled slightly, looking over both of them. Her brilliant green eyes hovered on Ulrich longest, Odd noticed.

"Ulrich Stern," Ulrich added, inclining his head.

"Malloria Medici," she replied, mirroring his gesture. "My family just moved here from Italy."

"Are you finding your way around?" Odd asked her.

"Kind of. Do you know which way to the cafeteria?" Malloria asked, absently flipping her bangs out of her face, showing a perfect complexion.

"You can come with us-that's where we're going," Odd offered, a sly look that Ulrich knew so well coming to his eye. Malloria smiled.

"That would be nice, thank you," she replied. When Odd winked at her, Ulrich knew that Odd was back to playing the field again.

~*~

"Hey, Malloria, do you want to sit with us at lunch?" Odd wondered, pointing to the table at the back of the cafeteria where Aelita and Jeremie were already sitting.

"Sure. It's not like I have anywhere else to go, anyway," she laughed, a silvery sound that was pleasing to the ear.

"Awesome. I'll introduce you to the guys." Odd led the way to the table, Malloria behind him and Ulrich behind her.

When they reached the table they caught the tail end of a conversation that Jeremie was having with Aelita.

"…don't think she'll be very pleased. She keeps insisting that she feels fine…" Aelita cleared her throat, interrupting Jeremie and causing him to look at their newcomers. Ulrich set his tray down and looked over at Aelita.

"Who're you talking about?" he asked, though his expression suggested that he knew exactly who they were talking about.

"No one. Odd, who's your friend?" Aelita changed the subject smoothly.

"This is Malloria Medici. She just moved here from Italy. Malloria, that's Jeremie," Jeremie waved, "and my, uh, cousin Aelita."

"Nice to meet you, Malloria. You have a lovely name," Aelita smiled at her.

"Thank you. It's a family name," Malloria returned the smile, even more warmly if possible. Odd set his tray down in its usual spot and motioned for Malloria to put her tray next to his, leaving a space open for Yumi.

"Who's sitting there?" Malloria asked, indicating the empty space.

"Yumi. She'll be here in a sec-oh, wait, here she comes." Sure enough, Yumi was coming their way now. She turned and was about to sit down when she noticed Malloria sitting next to Odd.

"Oh, um, Yumi, this is Malloria," Aelita introduced her when she saw that no one else was going to.

"Pleasure," Yumi stated simply, setting her tray down and sitting at her normal spot. Malloria smiled timidly, which Yumi did not return. About to ask Ulrich a question, she began coughing, noticing the glance that Aelita and Jeremie exchanged when she finally stopped, catching her breath. Ulrich had stiffened the instant she had begun coughing and relaxed only when she glanced over, reassuring him that she was okay.

"So, Malloria, what was it like in Italy?" Odd asked her, twirling a strand of spaghetti around his fork. With a swift glance towards Ulrich, Malloria began telling them about the small villa she and her family had lived in. She was an excellent storyteller and they were all soon drawn into her detailed descriptions of the ivy climbing the back gate of her house, the hue of the sky on cloudy days, and the times she had visited Rome, seeing the ruins of ancient civilizations.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Whoo, reviewers! 8D There's nothing an author likes better than reviewers! (other than tea and stuff). Thanks everyone! -showers brownies-

Secret Starr: You'll see what happens, but I'll give you a hint: you won't be disappointed! :D  
WMF: Oh, yeah, Yumi's fun to play around with. :3

Malloria and my muse and headmates are mine, but that's about it. And the storyline.

* * *

**Choices**

_By OoZolaoO_

Chapter Three: Trouble in the Making

**Stones04: **Anyone around?  
**Ishiyama1112:** im not  
**Stern97:** I'm here  
**DellaRobbia502: **ditto for the odd-ster!  
**Stern97:** the odd-ster?  
**DellaRobbia502:** yeah, decided I'm going by that now. -dramatic pose- call me…the odd-ster!  
**Stern97:** …all righty then.  
**Stones04:** Anyways, Jeremie and I need you all at the factory in a few.  
**Stern97:** is our digital friend getting restless?  
**Stones04:** No, we're going swimming.  
**DellaRobbia502: **speaking of which, about that time at the swimming pool…  
**Ishiyama1112:** don't even GO there, odd  
**Stern97:** yeah, unless you want me to rearrange your face for you  
**DellaRobbia502:** all right, all right. can't a guy have a little fun?  
**Stern97:** no**  
Stones04:** Cut it out you three. We need you, so come to the factory. Now.  
**DellaRobbia502:** -salute- aye aye aelita!  
**Stern97:** cya there  
**Stones04: **Yumi, are you coming?  
**Ishiyama1112:** might as well. i've got nothing better to do with my life. ;)  
**Stones04:** Okay, see everyone there!

[_Stones04 has signed off_]

[_Ishiyama1112 has signed off_]

[_Stern97 has signed off_]

[_DellaRobbia502 has signed off_]

~*~

Yumi and Ulrich reached the woods at the same time, Odd a few feet behind them. Ulrich moved the manhole cover and waited for Yumi to enter before he followed after her, leaving Odd to shut the cover behind him.

Reaching the sewers below, Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi each grabbed a skateboard, pushing off the ground and heading towards the factory. Yumi closed her eyes in contentment as the wind rushed by her, blowing her hair about her face. Opening her eyes again to avoid splashing into the water, she saw that Ulrich was a little ahead of her, apparently racing Odd.

"No one can ever beat the Odd-ster!" Odd crowed, rocketing ahead of his opponent.

"Hey, Odd, are you hungry?" Ulrich asked him. Odd turned around, confused.

"Hungry? Yeah, why?"

"Because you're about to eat my dust!" Ulrich yelled, shoving off and speeding past Odd. Yumi laughed, the rush of wind tearing away the sound, and speeded up also. Right when they were about to reach the end of the passage, she put on an extra burst of speed and passed by both the boys, reaching the ladder first.

"I win!" she grinned, flipping up her skateboard and catching it skillfully.

"No fair! You weren't even racing!" Odd protested.

"What's the matter, 'Odd-ster', never tasted defeat?" Yumi laughed, setting down her skateboard and climbing the ladder first.

"Apparently not," Ulrich laughed, climbing up behind her. Odd came last, still pouting.

At the top of the ladder, Yumi waited until both Odd and Ulrich were out onto the bridge. Odd glanced over to the end of the suspension bridge and then glanced back to his friends.

"Okay then, let's race to the elevator. Whoever gets there first is the champion of all races," he challenged them.

"You're on," Yumi replied.

"Bring it," Ulrich added. Odd readied himself.

"On your maaaaaaaaaaark, get seeeeeeeeeeeeeet…GO!" he yelled, and took off in a dead sprint. Caught a little off guard, Yumi and Ulrich were slow to start but soon caught up with him. The three raced neck and neck, reaching the ropes and even swinging down at the same time.

For the final sprint, it looked as if Yumi was pulling ahead. Suddenly, she felt her breath catch in her lungs and began coughing, this time worse than it had been in a while. Coming to a dead halt in the center of the floor she bent over double, coughing and gasping for breath. Ulrich saw her fall back and instantly stopped.

"_Yumi_!"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **All right, time to relieve the cliffie, haha. :) Thank you, everyone, for reviewing, and thank you especially for your alerts and favorites! I'm excited I have fans...

Anyways, on with the show! I don't own this stuff and all that. Please review! Every one counts, and every one makes me want to write more. :)

Also, if you're a fan of Avatar or any of those other fandoms, maybe check out my other stories? O: I just posted a new Zutara fic. /advertisement

* * *

**Choices**

_by OoZolaoO_

Chapter Four: Constant Vigilance

She was now kneeling on the floor, trying desperately to catch her breath, and Ulrich ran back, kneeling down next to her and grasping her shoulder.

"Just relax, Yumi, breathe," he whispered, unaware that he had her shoulder in a death grip. "You're okay," he added, reassuring himself as much as her. Yumi looked Ulrich in the eye and finally got a decent breath of air, using it to gain control of the coughing spasm. Her gasps subsided quickly as she began breathing properly again. Shaking violently on the concrete floor of the factory, Yumi closed her eyes and felt tears run down her cheeks. Ulrich released the death grip and put his arm around her, allowing her to lean against him like she had four days previous, only a few floors below where they were now.

"Looks like the Odd-ster is the master!" Odd called, leaning up against the elevator with pride. Ulrich shot a look of pure venom in his direction.

"That didn't count, Odd! Can't you see that Yumi's sick?" he hissed. Yumi didn't protest, only continued leaning on Ulrich as tremors ran through her body.

"Ah, well. I'll win next time," Odd gave up, seeing what bad shape Yumi was in. "Is it okay if I go on down? I'll let Einstein know where you two are." Ulrich nodded his consent and Odd pressed the down button, disappearing from view as the elevator doors clanged shut.

Yumi's trembling became less and less, though tears still poured down her cheeks. As soon as she could support her own weight, she moved away from Ulrich, turning away from him and swiping at the tears with the sleeve of her shirt.

"Are you okay?" Ulrich asked cautiously. He knew that Yumi would jump all over him, but he felt he should ask anyway. She turned towards him and he braced himself for the tirade, though he was pleasantly surprised as he saw the soft expression in her eyes.

"No, I don't think I am," she admitted with a shaky laugh. Ulrich smiled, hearing her laugh, and hugged her gently. Yumi leaned into the embrace for a while and then struggled out of it, hearing the elevator coming back up to their floor. Aelita came out and, spotting her two missing friends, hurried over to them.

"Is everything all right, Ulrich? Odd just said that Yumi had felt bad and you had stayed with her," Aelita asked in concern, taking in the tear tracks on Yumi's cheeks and her rasping breath.

"Everything is all right now," Ulrich replied. "Yumi has finally admitted that she is _not_ perfectly fine." He chanced a smile, which Aelita picked up on and returned.

"I'm glad you got her to see reason. Do you need help getting down to the supercomputer?" Aelita asked. Yumi shook her head.

"I'm fine with Ulrich, thanks. He's done this before," she smiled. Ulrich placed her arm around his shoulders and helped Yumi up as he had done a few days previously, allowing her to lean on him. Staggering to her feet with the help of Ulrich, Yumi leaned away from him a little, making it less obvious that he was the only thing keeping her upright.

They followed Aelita to the elevator and waited as it sunk further into the ground. Ulrich stayed focused on keeping Yumi standing, trying to ignore the glances Aelita kept directing their way. The elevator slid to a halt and he felt Yumi tense as the doors began to open. Aware that now wasn't the time to show his affection, Ulrich let Yumi attempt to stand up by herself and walked with her into the supercomputer room. Jeremie spun his chair around as the doors opened, looking at his friends.

"Can you make it to Lyoko, Yumi?" he asked. Aelita sighed. Why did Jeremie always have to pretend he didn't care? It was ridiculous. Even geniuses had to care sometimes.

"I'll try," Yumi replied. "Since we're only working with the Skid I should be fine."

"Okay, head on down to the scanners. Odd's already waiting for you." Jeremie turned back to the computer. Ulrich nudged Aelita, obviously repressing a smile, and Aelita rolled her eyes. The three of them went back to the elevator, coming out into the scanner room.

"I'll go last," Ulrich offered, leaning up against one of the scanners. Aelita, Odd, and Yumi entered the scanners and the doors closed in front of them. Ulrich heard Jeremie's voice echo through the scanners,

"Scanner…Odd."

"Scanner…Yumi."

"Scanner…Aelita."

"Transfer…Odd."

"Transfer…Yumi."

"Transfer…Aelita."

"Virtualization."

~*~

Yumi, Aelita, and Odd virtualized above the surface of Carthage, each dropping to the ground with a thud. Aelita straightened up first, brushing off her shoulders, followed by Yumi and Odd.

"You all right now, Yumi?" Odd asked casually, checking his stock of laser arrows.

"Relatively," she replied coolly, unfolding one of her fans with the grating noise of steel on steel. Ulrich then virtualized, dropping to the ground next to them. They each looked at each other and ran across the narrow passageway, reaching the very edge and looking down into the void below.

_"Your elevator is on the way_," _Jeremie informed them. _Sure enough, within seconds the familiar screeching noise alerted them of the platform coming for them. They all boarded it, waiting as it jerked into motion again, carrying them down to where the Skidbladnir was berthed.

_"Everyone get on a transfer spot_." They proceeded to take their usual spaces.

_"Energize._" Blinding pillars of light engulfed each of them, transporting them instantly to the inside of the Skid.

~*~

Later that night Aelita and Jeremie were in Jeremie's room, running through the coding for the Superscanner program. Aelita had her hand on Jeremie's shoulder and was leaning towards the computer screen, eyeing the digits.

"Okay, now go back to the results from when Yumi was scanned." Jeremie flipped through some windows and pulled up a smaller window illustrated with a digital image of Yumi on Lyoko.

"040736…everything seems normal," Aelita concluded, leaning back a little. "But you said that something popped up on the screen at the time of transfer?"

"Yes, but it went away before I had time to see what it was. I tried to recall it by searching the histories, everything. But it was like it had never existed." He turned to look up at Aelita, blinking a little as his pupils widened at the change of light. "I think X.A.N.A's up to something, Aelita, and I think we're being targeted, but I can't stop him until he makes the first move."

"I'll just keep a lookout to see how Yumi's doing. Maybe I'll get Ulrich to see if he can keep an extra sharp eye on her?"

"No," Jeremie immediately vetoed the idea. "If we tell him that we think X.A.N.A is hurting Yumi, he'll go crazy." He shook his head. "I just don't understand him. Sure, he likes Yumi, but why is he so overprotective?"

Aelita restrained the urge to laugh or roll her eyes, or even burst into tears, and instead withdrew her hand. Sometimes, she thought, Jeremie needed to get away from his logic and take a step into the world of emotion. It would do him good, though he would most surely be blinded by the light.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Look! I didn't forget about the story! :D Actually, I did forget, but a well-placed review jogged my memory and sent me searching in my computer for the next chapter. This and the next one are still pre-written; after that, I start my new idea going. But don't worry, there's an outline, so this story has already been placed out. THANK YOU to my reviewers. You guys are simply amazing and the reason I keep writing. So keep reviewing, and I'll keep writing. (: I apologize for rough style. I didn't have time to rewrite the chapter, so it's going to be a bit rusty.

I don't own Code Lyoko, blah blah blah.

And my Zutara fic is still hanging around, and I'm thinking about continuing it. (: My muse has been up to no good lately, but her mischief is doing wonders for my creative process.

ALL RIGHT, ENOUGH TALK, HERE WE GOOOOO.

* * *

**Choices**

_by OoZolaoO_

Chapter Five: Study Buddies

Ulrich was walking back from the bathroom, ready to go to sleep for the night, when a shock of red hair was visible in the corner of his eye. Turning, he saw Malloria Medici, the new girl, walking to her dorm room a few paces behind him.

"Oh, hi, Ulrich," she smiled as she saw him. "I didn't recognize you without your friend Odd around."

"Hi, uh, Malloria," he replied after groping quickly for her name. "How was your first day?" Ulrich asked to cover up for his blunder.

"All right, I guess. It's rather overwhelming, coming from Italy to France, but I'm adjusting. Ulrich, do you think…" Malloria trailed off, blushing. Curious despite himself, Ulrich cocked his head.

"Yes?"

"Do you think you could help me with some physics? I feel so stupid, asking for help, but I never did physics back home and I'm kind of lost." Malloria was looking really embarrassed now. Ulrich nearly smiled. He had thought she was going to ask some awkward question, like if she could go out with Odd or something.

"It's not a problem. And there's nothing wrong with asking for help," he finished lamely. Malloria shook her head.

"Ulrich, I know it's shameful, and so do you."

"What do you mean?"

"I've seen you in class. You don't like to ask for help. I'm like that, I like to be independent," Malloria looked down at her feet.

"I know what you mean. But I can help you. And since we're so alike, it might help us to study together," Ulrich realized. Malloria trained her lovely green eyes back up onto his face, a ray of hope shining in them.

"Thank you, Ulrich!" she positively beamed, now exceptionally radiant, and skipped off towards her dorm room, turning to wave to him. Ulrich let himself into his room, grinning. No X.A.N.A attacks as of recently, a new student who seemed rather friendly (sometimes having only a few friends got tiring), and the longest time he'd had to sleep in ages. Life was going well.

* * *

Yumi tossed and turned in her bed, in the clutches of a nightmare. With a muffled cry she jerked awake, sweating and breathing hard. She reached over to switch on the lamp next to her bed and relaxed a little as the room flooded with light. Leaning back against her pillow, she tried to slow her breathing before the coughing came. It was only a dream.

After a few minutes, when she had calmed down, she switched off the light and lay back down again, rolling over and closing her eyes. Half-asleep the second she hit her pillow, she was unable to recall the dream that had had her frightened only moments before. Within a few minutes she was back to sleep.

* * *

"…and that's what conservation of angular momentum is. Or, at least, that's what Jeremie told me it was," Ulrich amended. He was in the library, bent over the physics notes of the previous day with Malloria. She nodded, jotting down a few sentences at the bottom of a sheet already covered with various definitions. She was a very attentive listener and a fast learner, Ulrich had noticed, and would make excellent grades if she would just ask for help every once and a while.

A ray of early morning sunlight filtered through the window behind them, slanting across the page and Malloria's slender hand taking notes. The pen seemed to dance around the paper as it slid through the loops of her graceful handwriting, finishing her final sentence with a flourish.

"Thank you so much for this, Ulrich," she said gratefully, closing the sheets of paper in a composition book and sliding the pen through the spiral rings. "You're a really good tutor, you know."

Ulrich laughed. "I wouldn't say _that_. Just look at my grades! I'm on the edge of having to get a tutor myself. I think the only reason I can help you is…well, we're a lot like each other." A slight red tinge crept up his neck as he avoided her eyes in embarrassment. Malloria seemed to sense his dilemma and finished gathering her books, standing up and gently pushing in the chair she had been sitting in.

"It's almost time for breakfast, isn't it?" she asked after Ulrich had joined her at the end of the table. They began walking down the crammed aisles provided by the bookshelves, heading towards the exit of the library.

"Yeah. If you go and put your stuff in your room I'll save you a spot," Ulrich offered. Malloria smiled as they passed through the door into the courtyard.

"That'd be great, thanks. Same area as yesterday?" she asked, straightening the cord of the simple leather necklace she wore around her neck. A light green butterfly made of thin glass dangled at the bottom of it, accenting her eyes.

"Sure. See you in a few minutes," Ulrich replied as she went in the other direction. He strode out into the center of the courtyard, smiling to himself.

"Ulrich, over here!" Aelita called from the other end of the courtyard, waving at him. She was standing with Jeremie, Odd, and Yumi, seeming to be heading to breakfast. He altered his course and went over to them.

"Where were you this morning? I woke up and you were already gone," Odd spoke up first.

"Malloria had some questions on yesterday's physics lecture, so I gave her a hand," Ulrich answered, glancing over at Yumi before he answered. Her eyes were focused on the other side of the courtyard, and she looked half-dead with exhaustion.

"Malloria? You mean the new girl?" Odd was beginning to look perplexed.

"She wanted _your_ help with _physics_?" Jeremie was confused also.

"Yes, she did," Ulrich replied in irritation. "And I gave her some help, too. She seemed awfully glad." He noticed Aelita glancing over at Yumi, gauging her response to Ulrich hanging out with another girl. But Yumi seemed to be unaware of the conversation they were having.

"Are you awake, Yumi?" Aelita asked her. Yumi jerked and blinked twice, as if Aelita had startled her.

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm awake," she replied.

"You look exhausted," Odd observed. "Don't tell me you were working with Einstein on the Skid, too…" he rolled his eyes.

"I just had a hard time sleeping, that's all," Yumi answered. Aelita exchanged a glance with Jeremie similar to the one Ulrich had seen passed at lunch the previous day.

"But anyway, about Malloria-" Odd began, halting when the breakfast bell rang, interrupting him. "It's time for breakfast! Let's go!" Odd darted off towards the cafeteria, leaving his friends behind.

"Look at him go!" Aelita laughed, watching Odd sprint to the doors and nearly smack into them as the left-hand one suddenly flew open. Dodging the swinging door and the student coming out, Odd disappeared into the depths of the cafeteria.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Hey guys, Zola here! :D You know, you should be happy with me. This chapter is twice as long as the last one was, like almost exactly. I'm...not exactly sure how that worked out? Anyway, here's the last old chapter, meaning that new stuff is on the way! My school's spring break starts this week, so that means I'll have plenty of time to crank out chapter. Or procrastinate on cranking out chapters. :P

While I'm here, I'll advertise my other new fic: check out _Every Little Flower_, which I'm very proud of. HP fic and all that. SO, reviewers get virtual cookies that I baked myself, and here we go!

* * *

**Choices**

_-A Zola Production-_

Chapter Six: Up to Something

"Who's that seat for?" Yumi asked Ulrich as he placed his bag in the empty chair next to him.

"It's for Malloria," he replied, then it occurred to him that maybe he shouldn't have told Yumi that he was saving a seat for another girl. He saw her eyes narrow ever so slightly as she turned to talk to Aelita. Shifting uneasily in his chair, Ulrich scanned the cafeteria and relaxed visibly as he saw Malloria's bright red hair. She got her tray and glanced through the cafeteria and, spotting Ulrich, smiled. As she walked towards their table, Odd looked up and caught sight of her.

"Hey! Malloria! How's it going?" he asked her, getting up and moving to the other side of the table to hold out the chair for her. Malloria smiled a little nervously at him and sat down, adjusting her necklace again. Ulrich realized that she did that whenever she felt awkward, and gallantly leapt in to save her.

"Jeremie, I was trying to explain the Conservation of Angular Momentum to Malloria but I'm not sure I did the best job. Can you summarize it?" he asked. Both Aelita and Odd looked surprised that Ulrich was voluntarily bringing up schoolwork in a conversation, but neither said anything. Jeremie immediately launched into a detailed explanation, losing all of them as soon as he started. Even though Malloria didn't understand a word Jeremie was saying, Ulrich could tell that she was glad to have the chance to listen instead of making conversation.

Jeremie was almost finished with his long-winded discussion when a beeping from his laptop made the group jump. Aelita grabbed Jeremie's laptop from its case and flipped it open, typing for a little while. Then her eyes widened and she snapped the screen shut, glancing significantly at Jeremie. Yumi immediately pushed her chair in and took her tray to dump it, regardless of the fact that she hadn't finished her meal, and headed out the door, Malloria watching after her. Odd and Ulrich exchanged a look.

"Uh, Malloria, we have to go, um, do something," Ulrich spoke up, glancing apologetically at her. "See you later?"

Malloria looked startled. "Oh, yeah, sure, Ulrich," she replied easily. "I can go eat with someone else."

"Great, thanks, Malloria," Ulrich flashed a brief grin at her and went with Odd, Aelita, and Jeremie to take his tray. Malloria looked over to where a girl in her math class was sitting and moved her tray over to her table, easily lapsing into a new conversation with new people.

* * *

Yumi was waiting for them by the time they got to the woods and smiled welcomingly.

"Took ya long enough," she teased them, sliding down into the manhole first. Her friends descended after her, each grabbing their transportation of choice as they got to the bottom.

"Race to the end of the tunnel?" Odd asked half-heartedly. Ulrich glared at him, but Yumi nodded.

"Yeah, I'm in. GO!" she suddenly yelled, taking off like a rocket. Ulrich and Odd started after her with cries of protest, Aelita and Jeremie following behind.

"Watch this," Aelita said softly to Jeremie, and sped up. By this time the ladder was in view, and Aelita threw herself into the final stretch, coming from behind and winning spectacularly.

"What _is_ it with us and being beaten by girls?" Odd shook his head in disbelief. "You know, Ulrich, I'll bet if you brought Malloria down here she would beat us, too."

"No one's bringing Malloria down here." Yumi's tone signaled an end to the conversation. Ulrich glared over at Odd, who missed it totally.

"Come on, you guys, hurry up!" Jeremie prodded them. "There's an activated tower!"

"He's right, you know," Aelita pointed out. "We have no idea what X.A.N.A's up to. He might be destroying downtown for all we know."

"Nah, I doubt it," Odd spoke up, examining his fingernails.

"Why?"

"He's already tried that. Remember the Tarantula?" Odd waved his arms about like the monster he had faced off against only a few days previous. Yumi bit her lip to stifle a giggle.

"Okay, maybe he's not going after downtown. But we still need to hurry."

"All right, all right. No need to be so pushy," Odd complained, scaling the ladder first with Aelita behind him. Ulrich came last after Yumi, taking her hand gratefully at the top and allowing her to pull him up onto the suspension bridge. Blinking in the bright light, the five friends made their way into the factory, each wondering what was in store for them.

* * *

"Transfer…Aelita."

"Transfer…Ulrich."

"Transfer…Odd."

"Scanner…Aelita."

"Scanner…Ulrich."

"Scanner…Odd."

"Virtualization."

Odd, Aelita, and Ulrich virtualized a couple dozen feet above the surface of the desert sector, dropping to the ground and landing with ease. After a few seconds, Yumi joined them, landing a few feet to the left of Aelita.

_"The tower is to the south of your current position. I'm sending your vehicles." Jeremie's voice reached them._ Within moments the Overbike, Overboard, and Overwing were in front of their respective warriors, Aelita hopping on the Overboard with Odd.

"All right, let's go," Aelita called. The three vehicles started and zoomed ahead in unison, speeding across the blank desert landscape.

_"Hornets at four o'clock. There are four of them_."

"Copy that, Jeremie," Aelita replied, eyes already scanning the skies for the offending monsters.

"There they are. I'll take care of them," Yumi volunteered, letting go of the Overwing with one hand and drawing her fan. She waited for them to get close and prepared to toss. There: now she couldn't miss. She flicked her wrist and sent the fan spiraling towards the Hornets. The Hornets dodged with ease. One of them shot at the fan with a laser, reversing the direction so it shot back towards Yumi with double the speed. Yumi attempted to swerve away from it, but failed, wincing as she felt lifepoints drain from her shoulder.

_"Yumi, stay focused!"_ _Jeremie reprimanded her_.

"I'm trying, I'm trying…" she muttered, glaring up at the Hornets.

"I'll give it a go. Laser arrow!" Odd shot a few well-targeted arrows towards the buzzing swarm, taking out two of them with small explosions.

"Way to go!" Ulrich congratulated him, giving him a thumbs-up from his position on Odd's tail.

"The last two are mine," Aelita claimed them, raising her hand. "Energy field!" One of the Hornets was too slow to dodge and was hit by the blast, disappearing in another explosion.

"Three down, one to go," Yumi called, raising her remaining fan.

_"Wait, Yumi, that's your last fan. Let Aelita or Odd get it,_" _Jeremie suggested_.

"All right," Yumi agreed, folding up the fan. Odd's eyes hadn't left the Hornet since Aelita had taken out its friend, and was ready when it swooped down on him, shooting a barrage of lasers.

"Heads up, Ulrich!" he yelled, avoiding the laser with a sudden acceleration. Ulrich swerved also, moving so he was on Odd's right now. "I'll try to get this pesky critter." Odd raised his arm and targeted, crying, "Laser arrow!" The Hornet knew his tricks, however, and had already moved out of the way, zooming up and out of range.

"Coward!" Odd taunted it, grinning victoriously.

_"Don't relax just yet, you guys. Two Megatanks are coming in from the east_,_" Jeremie warned them_.

"We've got 'em, Einstein, don't fret," Odd replied cheerily, moving the Overboard in a serpentine fashion.

"There they are!" Aelita pointed to the two black objects rolling towards them. A sudden laser blast startled them all as it narrowly missed Ulrich.

_"Oh, my mistake. There's another one at four o'clock."_

"I'll go help Ulrich," Aelita spoke up, waving her hand over her star-shaped bracelet and unearthing her wings. With a mighty thrust of the shining appendages, she soared away from the Overboard and towards her ally.

"Way to _go_, Einstein," Odd muttered. "When we get this tower down I'll show you a _mistake…_" His threat was cut off as a quick laser blast from the remaining Hornet hit Yumi and knocked her off the Overwing.

"Yumi!" Odd swerved in on the Overboard and caught Yumi midair, saving her from a nasty downhill fall.

"Thanks, Odd," she said as she struggled to regain her balance on the different vehicle.

"You've got to be more careful, you know," he informed her matter-of-factly, heading back towards where Ulrich and Aelita were circling the Megatanks.

"Like I said, I'm trying!" Yumi replied defensively. "I'm not as quick, for some reason."

"Do you think it's X.A.N.A?" Odd asked softly, trying not to attract Ulrich's attention.

"It's possible. Jeremie?"

_"I'm on it,"_ _he spoke up, already tapping some keys_._ After a moment of scanning, he shook his head. "Nope, your digital coding is normal."_

"Come on, then. Let's go save Ulrich and Aelita," Yumi added with a touch of her normal spirit, grinning.

"You see? Now you see how I feel, constantly having to save them and all," Odd replied. "It's a bit of a nuisance."

"A little help?" Ulrich yelled over to them as a well-targeted Megatank laser devirtualized the Overbike. Odd grinned at Yumi.

"What'd I tell ya?" he laughed, altering his course. When they got closer Yumi leapt off the Overboard and landed gracefully next to Ulrich, unfolding her fan quickly to deflect a laser from the last Hornet.

"I'll take care of the bug, okay? You three take on the Megatanks," Yumi told him, eyes never leaving her target.

"Got it," Ulrich replied, also watching his opponent. He ran forward and drew his saber, yelling, "Supersprint!" He was on the Megatank before it could shoot a laser, viciously stabbing its eye. "Impact!"

"Way to go, Ulrich!" Aelita called as it rolled away and exploded, sending an energy field at her Megatank. Meanwhile, Odd was narrowly dodging the lasers of the last Megatank.

"You call that a laser? I've seen more threatening dandelions!" he mocked., leaping into the air and shooting at the eye with a cry of, "Laser arrow!" Unfortunately it missed, ricocheting off its hard exterior and shooting back towards his friends.

"Heads up!" he yelled, renewing his attack with more focus. Yumi turned and tried to move but was thrown off balance as Aelita's Megatank exploded. The arrow hit her and she fell backwards, instantly devirtualizing.

"Oh, _nice_, Odd!" Ulrich said scathingly. "Whose side are you on, anyway?"

"Hey, I gave her a heads up warning!" Odd shot back, finally hitting his monster's eye.

_Yumi pulled herself off the bottom of her scanner, holding her shoulder and wincing as she made her way back up to the supercomputer room._

By then, Aelita had spotted the tower and was on the ground again, racing towards it. But the second before she reached it, it deactivated itself with a rushing sound, the aura around it turning back to its normal white color.

"Huh?" Odd looked up from his argument with Ulrich. "What's going on?"

"Jeremie, what happened?" Aelita asked in confusion, looking up at the-now deactivated-tower.

_"I-I don't know." Jeremie was furiously typing away while Yumi watched from his left. "It seems that X.A.N.A. deactivated his own tower!"_

"Why would he do that?" Ulrich spoke up, forgetting to glare at Odd.

_"I have no idea. But just to be safe, you all had better come on in_._"_

"All right then, shall we?" Odd asked, going over to where Aelita and Ulrich stood by the tower. Aelita nodded, conjuring an energy field and pointing it at Odd. Ulrich drew his saber and turned towards Aelita, while Odd aimed a laser arrow at him.

"Ready…" he began.

"Set…" Aelita continued.

"Go!" Ulrich yelled, bringing his saber down on Aelita just as Odd's laser arrow hit his leg from behind. Within seconds they were all leaning up against the walls of the scanners, panting.

"Let's go see if Jeremie's found out anything." Aelita was the first out of her scanner, rubbing her arm ruefully. Odd staggered out second, his hand at his head, and Ulrich limped out last, holding on to the scanner wall for support.

"Right," Odd spoke up. Ulrich nodded his agreement, and the three of them made their way slowly to the elevator.

**

* * *

  
**

Yumi turned from her vantage point at Jeremie's shoulder as the elevator doors behind her slid open with a crash, revealing the remaining Lyoko warriors.

"Hey, Einstein, is there any way to make the devirtualization-through-an-ally deal less painful?" Odd asked, wincing slightly as his head throbbed again.

"Not that I know of," Jeremie answered without looking up from the keyboard. "It's kind of a punishment for devirtualizing one of your fellow warriors in the first place. That's why the pain fades less quickly."

"Yeah, I can still feel where Odd's laser arrow hit me," Yumi added, but the smile on her face showed that she meant no harm with her comment.

"It was a good idea," Ulrich told Odd, limping over to stand next to Yumi.

"Any luck with the tower, Jeremie?" Aelita asked, walking over to Jeremie's left and peering at the screen.

"It's like I said earlier, Aelita, X.A.N.A. deactivated his own tower. I wish I could know what he's planning," Jeremie said in annoyance, typing more furiously.

"Oh, well. I guess we'll just have to wait, then." It was a question, not a statement, and Aelita stepped back.

"We'd better get back to class; there's nothing more we can do here, Jeremie." Yumi gently removed his hands from the keyboard. Jeremie leaned back in the chair without protesting, closing his eyes in frustration.

"I guess you're right. You guys go on, I'll stay here." He opened his eyes and attempted to lean forward, but Yumi and Aelita each held a shoulder, restraining him.

"Yumi's right, Jeremie. Let's go back to class." It was Aelita's voice this time, and Jeremie finally listened, getting up.

"All right," he sighed, walking with his friends to the elevator. "But if X.A.N.A. attacks when we're in class I blame you," he added, determined to have the last word.

"Sure, sure," Odd replied, hitting the button and closing the elevator doors.

* * *

"Ah, yes, finally!" Ulrich exclaimed in excitement as the last bell of the day rang. He and Odd left their History class in a hurry, each voicing a sigh of relief once they got out to the courtyard.

"No more class until tomorrow!" Odd grinned. "And I plan to make the most of that time. Mariah and I are going out on another date tonight.

"What about you? Going on a date with the lovely Malloria?" Odd teased Ulrich. "Or maybe the beautiful black-haired-" Ulrich tripped him gracefully, cutting off the end of his statement as Odd tumbled to the dirt.

"All right, all right, I get it," Odd bounced back up, brushing off his shirt. "But I have to go get ready. I'll see you another time." With that he left Ulrich in the middle of the courtyard as he waited for Yumi.

"Ulrich!" he spun around as someone called his name. Half-expecting it was Yumi, he was a little surprised when he saw Malloria waving at him.

"Hey!" he smiled at her as she got closer.

"Hi! Do you want to study for tomorrow's physics quiz with me?" She got straight to the point. Ulrich realized how refreshing that was. He liked that about a person.

"Wait, we have a physics quiz tomorrow?" That was news to him.

"Yeah, Mrs. Hertz announced it at the end of class."

"Oh, I guess I wasn't paying attention. Sure," he agreed. She grinned, her pale green eyes glowing.

"I'll meet you in the library in a few minutes," she called, waving as she took off towards her dorm to get her physics books. Ulrich turned to go to the library to save a spot for them, totally forgetting about waiting on Yumi.

* * *

Yumi finally staggered out of her French classroom, half-dead from the torture of the exceedingly long class. Thank goodness Ulrich would be waiting for her. Leaning up against a pillar she scanned the courtyard with her dark eyes, looking for the familiar figure. Looking over it once, twice, three times, she saw that he wasn't there. Feeling her spirits sink just a little but knowing that he had a perfectly good reason, she made her way to the gate alone, eyes on the ground.

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, thank you thank you THANK YOU to my past reviewers, especially Secret Starr, moonlightbutterflye, Ankosmini956, and lovingo0Kawaii0oGirl for reviewing multiple times. :) Starr, Moonlight, HeppyBunnny, and an anonymous reviewer review'd Chapter 5, so they get extra points.

SO, THE REVIEWERS OF THE CHAPTER ARE:

Secret Starr and moonlightbutterflye! Yaaaaaay! PM me and I might just draw somethin' for ya. ;)


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N; **All right guys, here's where I break into some new stuff. I'm in the middle of exams right now (funny how I get most of my writing done then, hmm?), but summer's on the way, and I have a good feeling about my writing. Thanks again to my awesome reviewers -- I love you guys! :D

I only own Malloria & the plot, yo.

* * *

**Choices**

_-A Zola Production-_

Chapter Seven: You've Got a Friend in Me

After almost an hour of laughing with Malloria in the library, Ulrich realized that they probably weren't going to get any physics done. But that was fine with him. _Totally_ fine with him.

During a lull in the laughter when they were actually thinking about studying (maybe), Malloria looked up from her textbook and met Ulrich's eyes, grinning.

"Do you just want to forget about this physics stuff?" she indicated the materials lying unused on the desk.

"More than you know," Ulrich laughed.

"Let's get out of this library; it's really hot in here." Malloria stood up and began gathering her books and notes. Before they could fall everywhere, Ulrich stepped towards her and gently took them from her arms into his. Malloria blinked, a little shocked, then let her face relax into a shy smile.

"Thanks," she murmured before pivoting on her heel and striding to the door. Ulrich fell into step behind her, trying to ignore the fact that he was beginning to blush as much as she was.

They reached the edge of the courtyard nearest the woods and paused, neither sure where they were going. Malloria shot a sideways glance at Ulrich, plainly waiting for him to take the lead.

"So…" she began.

"So?" he prompted with a grin, setting her textbooks on a nearby bench. Malloria playfully shouldered him, laughing.

"Hey!" Ulrich protested, laughing also, and made a move as if to return the shove. Malloria leapt out of the way with surprising agility, surprised as he moved with her. She attempted to get close enough to get Ulrich, but his martial arts training saw her plans as she made them. Every time he tried to return fire, however, Malloria danced out of the way. After a particularly close shave Ulrich lunged forward and pursued her as she darted off, shrieking with laughter, into the woods where the lengthening shadows hid their play.

~*~

Odd was in his dorm room getting ready for his date when he chanced to look out the window. There was Ulrich, chasing Malloria in a game of what looked like tag. Odd froze halfway through putting his shirt on and watched his friend laugh with the beautiful redhead.

For some reason, Odd felt slightly jealous. He had planned for Mariah to dump him, after which he would ask Malloria out. But something about her made it clear that she wasn't his type (other than the fact that she was already hanging out with Ulrich) and he felt the jealousy abate. What did he care? He had Mariah, and maybe it would be good for Ulrich to have some fun and stop worrying about…

Yumi.

_Now _this_ should be interesting_, Odd thought grimly, and, realizing his shirt was only halfway on, finished buttoning it and proceeded with his preparation for the evening.

~*~

_She couldn't breathe. She was trying and trying, but she couldn't get a good breath of air. She slid down to the floor, trying desperately to catch her breath. Footsteps alerted her of him running back to her, and he knelt next to her, grasping her shoulder._

"_Just relax, Yumi, breathe," he whispered. She winced slightly as his grip tightened. "You're okay," he added, and she could tell he was reassuring himself more than her. She glanced up and caught his eye, holding his gaze. Finally she got a decent breath of air and began breathing properly again. When her gasps had quieted she began quivering uncontrollably, shutting her eyes as tears slid down her cheeks. He let go of her shoulder and put his arm around her shoulders and she leaned into his embrace in relief. He was always there for her._

A ray of sunlight brushing against her face woke Yumi and her eyes opened. She sat up slowly, a smile lingering on her face even as her dream faded. What a great way to start the day.

~*~

"Good morning, sunshine!" Aelita laughed as Jeremie dragged into breakfast, the imprint of his keyboard red on his cheek.

"Is there such a thing?" he yawned when he got to the table, immediately placing his head on his arms and closing his eyes.

"Hey guys." Ulrich walked up with Malloria behind him, setting his tray down. Everyone said a good morning of sorts except Jeremie, whose heavy breathing revealed that he was already falling asleep. "Was he up all night again?" Ulrich asked, indicating his friend.

"I'm guessing so, considering you can see where he fell asleep on his keyboard again," Odd pointed out as he buttered a piece of toast. Ulrich glanced over at Jeremie then let his eyes fall on Yumi, who was talking with Aelita. She looked more awake than the previous day and her eyes were brighter. Maybe she was finally getting better. Cheered by that thought, he struck up a conversation with Malloria, which lasted until Jim's unmistakable voice rang throughout the cafeteria.

"Hey! Listen up!" he called. A few people quieted, but most kept talking. Looking annoyed, Jim tried again. "I said, LISTEN UP!" His yell caused the students to fall silent and look towards him in confusion.

"That's better." He sounded pleased with himself. "I'm supposed to tell you all that there is a dance a week from now. That would be next Friday night. The dress is semi-formal and it will take place in the gym. That will be all." He strode off, attempting to look important and failing miserably. Immediately conversation surged again as students all over the cafeteria began excitedly discussing this new event.

Students all over the cafeteria, that is, except at the table of the Lyoko warriors. Jeremie continued sleeping; Aelita and Yumi halted mid-conversation; Aelita blushed a light shade of pink and Yumi's skin took on a darker tint; Odd put his toast down and began scanning the cafeteria for Mariah and, catching her eye, waved; and Ulrich visibly stiffened. Malloria was on his left side and Yumi was on his right side. Well, this was awkward.

A few strained minutes passed, but for Ulrich they seemed like hours. Finally the bell rang and Ulrich gratefully got up to dump his tray. Leaving the cafeteria at a pace nearly matching a sprint, he realized he had never been so eager to get to Spanish in his life.

~*~

**From: **Stones, Aelita

**To:** Ishiyama, Yumi

**Subject**: So…um…the dance?

Just between the two of us, Yumi, I'm worried about the dance. I mean, I know this sounds silly and all, but I'm afraid that Jeremie won't ask me…

-Aelita

[Message sent]

--

**From: **Stern, Ulrich

**To: **Ishiyama, Yumi

**Subject**: [no subject]

Yumi I was wondering if you

[Draft deleted]

--

**From: **Stern, Ulrich

**To: **Ishiyama, Yumi

**Subject:** [no subject]

Hi Yumi maybe we could

[Draft deleted]

--

**From: **Delmas, Elisabeth

**To:** Stern, Ulrich

**Subject:** Our plans for the dance!

Ulrich dear!!!!!!! I was hoping we could talk about our plans for the dance over lunch tomorrow!!! See you there!!!!!

[Error: username blocked. Message unable to be sent.]

~*~

Malloria was brushing her hair that evening after classes were over when a knock on her door drew her attention. Wondering who it could be, she set her hairbrush on her bed and opened the door. There stood Ulrich, looking very unsure.

"Oh, hey, Ulrich!" she greeted him, stepping out of the way so that he could come in. "Did you need something?"

"D'you want to, uh, I dunno, take a walk with me?" Ulrich barely got his tongue coherently around the words and he instantly blushed. Malloria was a little confused at first but then she smiled, drawing a relieved look from Ulrich.

"That would be great. I was going to work on some homework, but could I meet you in the open-air courtyard in half an hour or so?"

"Sure!" _Why on _earth _was he doing this? What had _ever_ given him the idea?_ The little voice in the corner of his mind that sounded a lot like Yumi began questioning him. Honestly, he had didn't know. But he had found himself staring restlessly at his science textbook for ten minutes straight and he knew that he needed to take a walk. Odd was out with Mariah, Yumi and Aelita were shopping for the dance, and Jeremie was working in the Skid's programming. Malloria was the next best thing.

Forty-five minutes later found Ulrich and Malloria in the shadow-patterned depths of the forest. Conversation had lapsed after a few moments; both were content to listen to the subdued sounds of the crickets singing just out of sight. Ulrich's steady tread crunched on the pine needles beneath him. Malloria gave a happy sigh.

Ulrich glanced over and drew encouragement from her look of peace. "Malloria--"

"Call me Ria," she interrupted him with a gentle smile.

"…what?" Ulrich hesitated, losing his train of thought.

Malloria giggled softly at his confusion. "Ria. Call me Ria."

"Ria, then. I would give you something else to call me, but 'Ulrich' isn't easy to make a nickname out of," he managed.

Malloria's face fell ever so slightly. "Sissy manages it," she muttered.

"Wait, _what_?" Ulrich asked, stopping in the middle of the path. Malloria turned away from him.

"Sissy manages to give you a nickname. 'Ulrich-dear,' she calls you." Her voice quivered. Ulrich grabbed her shoulder and turned her to face him.

"Malloria, there is _nothing going on with me and Sissy_. She just stalks me, that's all."

Malloria met his gaze with her green eyes, luminous in the fading sunlight. "Are you sure? She really seems to like you."

Ulrich snorted. "That's her problem, then. Sissy and I will never 'be' anything other than classmates, maybe friends if she does something outlandish like save my life," he added as an afterthought, reflecting on the times before return-to-the-pasts that Sissy _had_ in fact saved their lives, though she wouldn't know it now.

Malloria sighed again, and Ulrich was happy to see the worry slowly slide from her face. "Can we keep walking?" she asked softly, looking away. Ulrich obeyed, continuing down the path. There was a new sort of confidence in Malloria's step, he noticed. Whyever had she asked about _Sissy,_ of all people?

Ulrich gave it up with a mental shrug. Girls were impossible to figure out.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Wild Zola appeared! Quick, use AuthorBall!

xD Hiya, guys! Long time no see, and I'm sorry about that. Since Code Lyoko's ended, it's been hard for me to get inspiration. BUT, in honor of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), I've put myself to the task of finishing several of my fics: _Choices_ and my Bones fic _Unexpected, not Unexplained,_ among others.

Don't think the story will end up being twenty-one chapters -- that'd be waaaaaay too long and strung out. But it should be somewhere around eighteen, eventually.

Anyways, enjoy! Keep your eyes peeled for a new chapter soon!

I do not own Code Lyoko or the character.

* * *

**Choices**

_-A Zola Production-_

Chapter Eight: Uncomfortable Failure

"So that was…" Aelita trailed off as she shut the door to Jeremie's room behind her. It was night of the day after the dance had been announced, and Aelita had stopped only to change clothes before going by Jeremie's room to discuss the day.

"A complete and utter disaster?" Jeremie completed bluntly, swiveling in his chair to face her.

Aelita sighed and folded herself neatly onto Jeremie's bed. "We haven't had a mission that disastrous since we lost William, have we?"

"Not that I can remember." Jeremie shook his head. "Except maybe the time we lost Yumi in the digital sea."

"And it was Yumi that time as well." Aelita closed her eyes.

"Are you all right?" Jeremie's voice was unsure, but his gaze was level.

"I'm fine." Aelita blinked her eyes open with a hesitant smile. "Just a headache."

"What are we going to do about Yumi?" Jeremie blurted out after a few moments of uncertain silence. "She's jeopardized two missions lately, three if you count the second time it took to complete this one."

"Are Odd and Ulrich doing okay?" Aelita avoided the question. "They were in pretty bad shape after they came out of Lyoko that second time."

"Ulrich got Odd up to their room without anyone seeing," Jeremie went with it, removing and polishing his glasses, "and Odd had regained consciousness when I called about ten minutes ago."

"I'm going to go check on them." The pink-haired girl was on her feet and out the door before Jeremie had a chance to reply.

"Aelita, what about--?" he called desperately as the door closed behind her. There was no answer. Jeremie sighed and returned to his monitor, running over the statistics from the two missions of the day. No matter which way he looked at them, they were terrible. He shook his head. Something had to be done.

---

"Odd? Ulrich?" Aelita knocked softly on the door to her friends' room. "It's Aelita."

There was a pause before the door opened slowly, revealing a pale and ragged-looking Odd. "Hi, Princess," he greeted her, flashing a shaky smile. "Come on in."

Aelita obliged. "You're awake," she managed.

"Yeah." He flashed another crooked smile before sinking onto his bed. "I'm not sure how I feel about that, though."

Aelita's gaze located Ulrich's form stretched across his bed on the opposite side of the room, though he was concealed by several layers of blankets.

"Ulrich's sleeping." Odd followed her line of sight. "He said he'd been throwing up for about twenty minutes when I came to, but he finally managed to drift off. I'm just glad he finally gets how nauseating Lyoko travel can be. Something I've been telling everyone for years." A shadow of a smirk crossed Odd's face.

"You should be sleeping as well," Aelita scolded gently. "You look awful."

"Thanks, Princess, guys really love to hear that." Another ghost of a playful smile. "Are you doing okay? You were on Lyoko twice as well."

"Just a headache," Aelita replied. "I lived on Lyoko for a while, remember? Traveling back and forth isn't as hard on me."

"You're lucky." Odd shook his head grimly. There was a pause, and he awkwardly blurted out, "I'm really sorry about the mission, Aelita. We messed up big time."

"No," Aelita stated firmly. "We were just unlucky."

"You don't believe that either." It was a fact, not a question.

Aelita hesitated. "Get some more rest, Odd. Let me know if you need anything," she added, touching her hand to his shoulder before she left the room.

---

"Yumi?"

Yumi halted in her trek across the courtyard as her name reached her ears, and she turned to see Malloria a few feet behind her. The afternoon sunlight turned Malloria's auburn hair to fire, and Yumi felt an uncomfortable pang.

"Have you seen Ulrich today? He hasn't been in any of his classes," Malloria continued, nervously flicking her hair from her face.

Yumi let her fidget for a few moments before replying. "He's sick."

"Sick? What's wrong?"

"He'll be back tomorrow," Yumi replied shortly. She turned her back on Malloria and stalked away, ignoring the other girl's called thank-you. A glance over her shoulder a few seconds later showed Malloria walking towards the science buildings, not the dorms. Good. Yumi shouldered her bag and began walking towards the dorm buildings herself.

---

"How are they doing?"

Aelita looked up as Yumi closed the door gently behind her. She refolded the damp washcloth in her hand and pressed it up against Odd's forehead again. The light-haired boy stirred in his sleep.

"Better," Aelita replied softly so as not to wake her patients. "Both sleeping, thankfully." Yumi's gaze flicked to Ulrich and back to Aelita. "Both their fevers have broken and Ulrich's is nearly gone."

Yumi let out her breath in a grateful sigh. "Is there anything I can do?"

Aelita shook her head. "I'll be leaving in a little while anyway; the best thing they can do is sleep.

"Okay," Yumi replied reluctantly, and Aelita was amused to see her gaze flick to Ulrich again. "Is your migraine any better?"

"Yes, thanks." Aelita smiled. "Although I'm not looking forward to all this make-up work I have to do this weekend."

"Ugh, I'm sorry." Yumi smiled in reply. "I'm actually kind of glad I didn't go back to Lyoko the second time – someone besides Jeremie needs to be in good health."

"Yeah." Aelita laughed softly, though her hands holding the washcloth were trembling slightly. How on earth were they going to talk to Yumi about this?

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**Thanks for reading! Now hit that adorable little review button and tell me what you think! :D**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: And here I am, crawling back to the fandom! Haha. I've been watching some old episodes On Demand lately, and it made me want to revive this fic! Welcome back to my old fans, and hello to any of you reading this for the first time!**

**At least re-read the last chapter before getting into this! But if you don't want to, basically Yumi's been sick and has been jeopardizing missions to Lyoko. At the end of the last chapter, we learned that the male heroes and Aelita had to re-do a Lyoko trip because of an absolutely failed mission, leaving them in pretty bad shape. Meanwhile, the lovely Italian lady Malloria still has her eye on Ulrich...**

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**Choices**

_-A Zola Production-_

Chapter Nine: Aftermaths

"Ahh, I never thought I'd be so happy to go back to class," Ulrich tilted his face towards the rays of early morning sunlight just beginning to steal across the grounds of Kadic Academy.

Odd stumbled out of the dorms behind him, grumbling unhappily. "Mmm, speak for yourself," he yawned, scrubbing at his eyes with the heels of his hands. But Ulrich saw him begin to smile as he finger-combed his purple-streaked hair into a less unruly shape.

"Ulrich, Odd, hi!" They turned simultaneously to see Aelita waving cheerily from the closest edge of the courtyard.

"Hey, Aelita!" Ulrich gave an answering wave, and a spring stole into Odd's step as they made their way to join their friends. Jeremie was standing in the shadow of the academic buildings, and Yumi hadn't yet come into school.

"It's good to see you guys on your feet again," Jeremie smiled at them as Aelita wrapped her arms around the two warriors in a warm hug.

"Aack, can't breathe!" Odd struggled out from under Aelita's arms, but he was grinning. "It's good to see you too, Princess."

"Are-" Aelita started, when Ulrich unknowingly cut her off, "How are you feeling?"

"Much better," Aelita replied. "I was back in class yesterday. I only have one day of work to make up, thankfully."

"What about you two?" Jeremie slung his backpack over his shoulder as the four friends began making their way towards breakfast.

"I'm happy I can finally stomach food again," Ulrich replied wryly. Aelita shot the two boys a sidelong glance, noting with some concern that they had lost some weight. Even scrawny Odd was noticeably thinner.

"Amen, brother!" Odd crowed, all traces of exhaustion vanishing as they drew closer to the cafeteria. When the squat building came in sight, he broke into a run, leaving his friends behind.

Ulrich laughed. "I don't think _he'll_ have too much trouble making up for it. Ten to one he'll eat at _least_ two extra servings at breakfast."

"He can have mine – it's for a good cause," Aelita smiled.

"What's been going on since Monday?" Ulrich asked as they reached the doors and slipped inside. "I feel like I've missed a lot."

Aelita and Jeremie exchanged a glance. "Nothing really," Jeremie replied, shooting another look at Aelita. "School as normal."

"Sissy's been asking about you," Aelita supplied. "And Jim. He was planning to call your parents if you weren't back in class by today."

"Yolanda didn't have anything to say about it?" Ulrich asked, citing the blonde nurse who reigned over Kadic.

Jeremie shook his head. "Yolanda's on vacation this week. You three got lucky."

"'Lucky' isn't exactly the word I would have used for it," Aelita breathed, exchanging another quick glance with Jeremie. Ulrich watched their exchange with growing suspicion.

"Hey, what exactly-"

"Oh look, Odd's waving us over," Jeremie cut Ulrich off, abruptly lengthening his stride. Aelita too hurried away, shooting a nervous glance over her shoulder that Ulrich couldn't miss.

"Awesome, great, I love being left in the dark," Ulrich muttered under his breath, tucking his hands in his pockets as he slouched into the breakfast line, his good mood dropping a few points.

* * *

Ulrich dragged his feet across the dusty grounds of the courtyard, moving blindly with the crowd of students going to lunch. Thank god it was finally time for a break. Every one of his classes that morning had added to his exponentially growing pile of work to make up, that in addition to normal classwork. His energy had started fading after the first hour or so of class; now it was all he could do to walk in a straight line.

"Ulrich!"

He glanced up as his name rang across the courtyard. Malloria Medici appeared next to him, a warm smile lighting up her eyes.

"Hey, stranger! It's good to finally see you back in class – I was starting to worry about you!" she greeted him playfully, shifting the position of the stack of books in her arms.

"Hi, Malloria." Ulrich tried to smile back. It must have worked. Malloria was positively glowing now.

"Are you feeling any better?" She inspected him with a critical gaze.

"Yeah, I…yeah, I guess so. Kind of tired."

"I'd imagine. You missed two whole days of school, I'm sure you're overwhelmed as well. If you need any help catching up with physics, I'm more than happy to give you a hand."

"Thanks," Ulrich's smile was genuine this time. He paused, confused, as Malloria veered off in the other direction.

"Aren't you coming to lunch?"

"Oh, I have to meet with a teacher. I'll eat later. It's good to see you back, Ulrich, see ya later!" Malloria paused, then threw her arms around his neck in a quick hug that made Ulrich stagger back a few paces. And then she was gone.

"What are you doing, Ulrich? Lunch is this way!" Odd breezed by him, grabbing his shirtsleeve and pulling him reluctantly into motion again.

"Ulrich!" Sissy's shrill voice pierced the lunchtime din the moment Ulrich set foot in the building. He managed a half-hearted wave before Odd all but shoved him into the lunch line.

"Ulrich!"

Ulrich winced. If he heard his name one more time…

But it was Yumi this time, he realized a half second later, and he glanced gratefully up to see her grinning at him from their normal lunch table.

"She's been asking about you," Odd remarked off-handedly, somehow managing to balance two trays on his arms.

Yumi stood to greet them as they approached the table. "Hey, Aelita said you were back today."

"Yeah, I'm back," Ulrich managed a tired smile. Its weariness did not escape Yumi, whose eyes tightened in worry.

Aelita smiled in greeting as the three slid into their seats. "How's your morning been? You looked like you were about to fall asleep in Spanish."

"Was I that obvious?" Ulrich chuckled. "Dang, I was trying to be subtle about it."

"At least you were _trying_. You couldn't hear Mrs. Hertz for Odd's snoring," Jeremie piped up wryly as he twisted a piece of spaghetti around his fork.

A soft beeping reached Ulrich's ears, and his shoulders tightened automatically. He glanced warily around the table, hoping he was hearing things. He wasn't. Aelita looked pained as Jeremie bent to fish his laptop out of his backpack. Even Odd had stopped eating for once, waiting tensely.

"Xana's launched another attack," Jeremie's report came as a sigh that rippled around the table. Aelita's shoulders slumped, and Yumi let out a soft groan. Odd slowly set down his fork, staring at his spaghetti with an expression kin to revulsion.

"I think I'm going to be sick," he moaned softly. Ulrich dropped his head to his hands.

"Better go before it becomes a problem," Jeremie prodded gently. "Let's get moving, guys."

"I'll meet you over there," Odd whispered, looking slightly green as he all but bolted from the table.

"Come on, Aelita," Ulrich stood and moved to touch her on the shoulder. "Let's get this over with."

"Go ahead with Jeremie, Ulrich, I'll be there in a second," Aelita gave a tiny smile. Ulrich nodded, exchanging a concerned glance with Yumi before following Jeremie out of the cafeteria.

"I'm coming, Yumi," Aelita added as the black-clad girl hesitated, looking unsure.

"I was hoping we'd have at least a day or two before we'd have to get back to it," Yumi sighed. "Ulrich and Odd haven't had a chance to recover yet, and you sure look like you could use some rest as well."

"I'll be fine. Yumi-" They were outside the cafeteria now, and Aelita stopped for a moment. Yumi slowed to a halt.

"What, Aelita?" The look in Aelita's eyes was making her nervous. Very nervous.

"I think it'd be best if you weren't…if you weren't a part of this mission, Yumi. I'm sorry," Aelita's voice dropped to a whisper at the end. "You've…"

"I…what?" Yumi stiffened. A glance at Aelita's face told her that her fears were correct.

"You need to…sit this mission out, Yumi. It's-"

"Yeah, I get it," Yumi cut her off sharply. Hot and cold chills ran, alternating, down her spine. "I'm the reason we had to redo the last mission anyways." Yumi's eyes were chunks of obsidian, and her tone was icy.

"Yumi, I-"

But Yumi turned on her heel and broke into a run, leaving Aelita gazing worriedly after her.

"I'm sorry, Yumi," Aelita whispered, biting her lip until it bled. "But it's…better this way. At least for now."

Her words lingered in the air, then fell to mingle with the dust left by Yumi's departure.

* * *

**A/N 2; Review review review! You guys are the only reason I keep writing this thing (:**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I don't really have anything to say, except...fail. I'm sorry I'm such a fail, haha. Buuuuut, at long last, here's an update! I'm sorry I can't get these out in a reasonable amount of time, haha. I haven't forgotten about this story, I'm just a lousy writerrrr.**

**Also also - thank you so much to the wonderful MOONLITXANGEL! Best fan ever :) Thanks, love, for keeping me on track.******

I don't own CL or the characters.

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_Choices_

_A OoZolaoO Production_

Chapter 10: Things Fall Apart_  
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"_Tower…deactivated," Aelita panted, closing her eyes._

Jeremie leaned back in his chair and sighed, clasping his hands over his forehead. "Nice job, you guys, way to stick with it," he remarked over the intercom as he tapped the key sequence to devirtualize the warriors. "I'm bringing you in."

Silence crackled over the headset. Jeremie's mouth crooked in a bemused half-smile – it wasn't like Odd to keep his one-liners to himself. He tapped his fingers absently against his leg as he watched the Lyoko warriors devirtualize and reappear on Earth. A deft keystroke pulled up the security camera mounted in the scanner room, and Jeremie searched the grainy image for his teammates.

There was Ulrich, curled up in the bottom of his scanner like a sleeping Kiwi. Odd was half-in and half-out, lying against the floor with his legs still in the cylinder. Aelita staggered to her feet, faltered, and fell to her knees again. Jeremie bit his lip worriedly and removed his earpiece, dashing to the elevator as soon as he was clear of the supercomputer's mainframe.

The elevator doors slid open with a dull clank, and Jeremie hurtled into the scanner room, going first to Aelita.

"Hey, Aelita, are you okay?" He dropped to his knees next to her, speaking softly.

"Yeah, just give me a moment," she replied, squeezing her eyes shut. Jeremie glanced over as Ulrich pulled himself to a seated position.

"Did we do it?" Ulrich leaned back against the scanner wall, crossing his legs under him.

"Yes, you guys deactivated the tower," Jeremie replied, sliding across the floor to check on Odd as the blond warrior lifted his head.

"I feel a lot better than I thought I would," Odd managed. He rolled over, turning to face the ceiling. "I only feel like I got hit by a four-wheeler."

"Last time was à la steamroller," Ulrich cracked a smile. "Thankfully we're downgrading."

Jeremie began to relax. "Well, I'm glad to hear it. I didn't know how many more days of class you all could miss," he joked.

"No worries, Einstein, you won't have to be alone in physics again tomorrow." Odd stretched widely, making a semblance of a snow angel in the dust on the scanner room floor. Aelita chuckled softly as she drew her finger through the debris.

"Lovely. We need to clean in here more often."

"We clean in here?" Ulrich quipped, also stretching as he got slowly to his feet.

Jeremie smiled. "All right, you guys, let's get back to the dorms before curfew."

Odd made a soft sound not unlike a purr and curled tightly in on himself. "Do we haaaaaave to? I'm so comfortable here."

"Up and at 'em, roomie, we've got a Spanish test we need to study for." Ulrich nudged him gently with his toe. "_Vamanos, muchacho._"

"Mmpf," Odd protested. He held out his arms. "Carry me?"

Ulrich kicked him again, a little harder, and turned to help Aelita to her feet.

* * *

"Good morning!" Yumi slid into the chair beside Ulrich, making him jump and almost spill his orange juice.

"Good morning to you too," he replied, chancing a smile as he read her mood. "What are you doing here? You don't normally show up until first period."

"I told my parents I had to meet with a teacher, and they let me skip breakfast. I wanted to see how the mission went." She glanced at Jeremie, who froze in the process of lifting a fork to his mouth.

"Um, great!" he stammered after a moment's pause, letting the eggs spill back to his plate. "Yeah, we got the, um, tower down and everything. You know, nothing exciting." He seemed to realize he was babbling, and quickly stuck his fork back in his mouth.

"So it wasn't too bad?" Yumi looked at Odd and Aelita.

Aelita shook her head. "No, it was pretty straight-forward. Ice sector, Hornets and a couple of Tarantulas for a welcoming committee. Odd and Ulrich took care of them pretty quickly." Aelita paused, trying to read Yumi's mood like Ulrich had before her. Odd ignored the conversation flitting around him as he concentrating wholeheartedly on the mountain of bacon piled before him.

"Ahh, good. I mean, I figured since there wasn't a return-to-the-past or anything, it had gone okay, but…" Yumi trailed off, a blush staining her cheeks.

"No, it went wonderfully - thanks, Yumi," Aelita covered for her gracefully, a warm smile growing on her face. "We…we missed you."

Yumi had opened her mouth to respond when the warning bell for first period rang, prodding the cafeteria of sleepy students into motion. The Lyoko warriors slowly began gathering their things, save for Yumi.

"I have first period free today," she answered in response to their questioning glances.

"And…you came in to see us instead of sleeping in?" Jeremie cocked an eyebrow. Yumi blushed again.

"I'll see you guys at lunch," she commented before turning on her heel and striding quickly away, ducking around the throng of students filtering out the door.

"Well…that went well," Aelita started, gazing after Yumi in surprise.

Ulrich let out a short laugh. "Better than expected." But he still watched after her.

"So she didn't get mad?" Odd blinked. "Wow. Are we sure that was Yumi?"

"She was surprisingly cool with it," Aelita replied. "What, were you too busy with your breakfast to pay attention?"

"I didn't even know Yumi was there until the bell rang." Odd shrugged. Ulrich snorted.

"What are we going to do when we get another alert?" Aelita whispered to Jeremie as Odd and Ulrich peeled away with a wave. "Are we going to let Yumi go back to Lyoko?"

"I mean, we have to, eventually. Maybe we can take her on a training mission, see if we can figure out what's going on," Jeremie hissed back. "We can say we need some information from the network or something, it's not like any of them pay attention to that anyways."

Aelita cracked a grin. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. But, until then…"

Jeremie sighed. "It's better if we don't take her on missions, I guess. Let's go for the training mission tomorrow at lunch, since we can't go tonight."

"Oh yeah, Odd's skateboarding competition." Aelita bit her lip. "All right, we can pass the word onto the others."

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

"I hate missing lunch even more than usual today," Odd grumbled, kicking at leaves on the forest floor as the Lyoko warriors headed to the manhole cover.

"It's not like you're going to starve," Aelita laughed, tossing Odd another apple from the grocery bag hanging from her arm. He caught it and took a bite, chewing morosely.

"Man cannot live on fruit alone," he remarked through a mouthful of apple. Ulrich ducked away as a shower of apple fragments sprayed from Odd's mouth.

"We wanted the news, Odd, not the weather," he quipped, ducking quickly out of the way as Odd aimed a kick in his direction.

"Cut it out, you two," Yumi protested as Odd brushed by her, but she was smiling. "You'd think the wounded warriors would have a little less energy."

"Ehh, we've been off Lyoko for almost two days now, we're okay!" Odd called back to her from his pursuit of Ulrich. His roommate stuck out his tongue and reversed direction, leaving Odd skidding in the fallen leaves.

"They sure seem okay," Aelita commented more quietly, watching her friends with a smile. "I don't think we have to worry."

The shrill alarm of Jeremie's laptop shattered the serenity of the woods, and Aelita and Yumi stopped as he fished it from his bag.

"Ahh, no, no, _no!_" Jeremie muttered to himself, balancing his laptop on a knee as he typed in a series of codes. "X.A.N.A's got a group of monsters attacking the Skid!"

"I thought we put up shields to keep that from happening." Jeremie glanced over as Odd and Ulrich returned to the group. Ulrich carefully positioned himself with Aelita in between them, though his attention was on Jeremie.

"We did." Jeremie clicked a few keys.

"The shields require maintenance at least once a month to make sure they're still functional," Aelita explained. "It looks like X.A.N.A. got through them right when they were starting to weaken."

"Well, at least we're almost to the factory anyway," Yumi tried. Aelita and Jeremie exchanged a glance.

"Yumi…" Aelita started. "The purpose of today's mission was to work with _you_, to make sure X.A.N.A. hadn't infected you with some sort of virus that is affecting your ability to fight."

"You mean to make sure I'm not just all of a sudden _bad_?" Yumi shot back, her eyes darkening. "Is that what this is all about? You're afraid that I've lost my edge or something?"

"No, Yumi, it's-"

"I've always been the weakest of our group, even after Aelita got her powers!" Yumi's voice rose in pitch as the frustration that had been building for days began to break loose. "I'm _always_ the one falling into the digital sea, _always_ the one who needs _rescuing_! Of _course_ it was me that X.A.N.A. captured and cloned. I'm always the target, because I'm the _weakest_, and I don't _belong_ with you guys." Tears were glittering in her eyes now. Ulrich moved forward impulsively.

"Yumi, that's not true at all!" he argued, desperation coloring his tone. "You're just as much a valued member of this group as anyone – we couldn't do it at all without you!"

"Why do you think we pulled you into it to begin with?" Odd chipped in. "You're an awesome fighter, Yumi, and not just on Lyoko! I mean, seriously, you're one of the few people who can whip Ulrich in a fight." Ulrich shot a glare at him.

"Yumi, please, listen to us," Aelita begged. "I know you're angry and upset right now-"

"No, Aelita, you have _no idea_ what I'm feeling!" Yumi was crying now, but she didn't seem to notice the tears rolling down her cheeks. "Just…stop trying to be so perfect, okay, because you're _not!_ Stop pretending that you aren't as pissed off at me as I am at myself."

"Yumi-" Aelita put her hand on Yumi's shoulder. Yumi shoved her hand away and broke into a run, heading back towards Kadic.

Silence lay heavily on the warriors as the echo of Yumi's footsteps faded away. Ulrich was clenching his fists tightly, looking like he was in pain. Jeremie had stopped typing on his laptop and was gazing into the distance in shock. Aelita closed her eyes tightly as tears began to squeeze through her lids.

It was Odd who broke the silence. He crossed the gap to Aelita and put his arm around her, rubbing her thin shoulders. "C'mon, Princess," he said gently. "We should probably go rescue the Skid." He glanced up at Jeremie, his gaze imploring.

Jeremie blinked, dazed. "Yeah…we should. Let's go, guys." He waited as Ulrich remained stationary, staring after Yumi. Jeremie gently touched Ulrich's shoulder. "Come on, Ulrich. We can go after her as soon as we're finished here."

Ulrich shrugged off his hand and stormed ahead, leaving Jeremie to close the manhole cover behind them. Before the metal disc slid into place, he glanced once more in the direction Yumi had gone, hoping against hope that maybe she would reappear.

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**A/n2: Revieeeeew! It helps me remember that I'm writing fanfics :D**


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